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SANTA ROSA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS DISTINGUISHED AWARD~ Magi Linscott Named Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ Southern Region Youth Advocate of the Year ~

PACE—Magi Linscott, Santa Rosa County high school student and Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) youth advocate, won the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Southern Region Youth Advocate of the Year Award.

The Youth Advocates of the Year Awards honor young activists across the country who fight to protect their peers from tobacco use through public education efforts, student-to-student training, and outreach. They are recognized for promoting tobacco prevention legislation in their home states and reducing tobacco marketing in their communities.

Linscott, a Hawaii-born junior at Pace High School, has worked with SWAT since her freshman year. The loss of her grandmother to tobacco use motivated her to take a stand against the tobacco industry and educate others about the harmful effects of tobacco use. In addition to working with SWAT, Linscott is the co-editor for the 2014 Pace yearbook, a member of the Anchor Club, BETA, and the National Honor Society.

“I'm just a girl who's tired of seeing Big Tobacco market their harmful products to me and my generation,” Magi said. “Getting the South's Youth Advocate of the Year award is such an enormous honor. Hopefully, more people can make a stand.”

Linscott attended the Youth Advocates of the Year Awards Gala at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, which celebrated the 17th anniversary of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

“Our program is built around leadership, character building, empowerment and tobacco prevention,” said Robbie Leggett, Tobacco Prevention Specialist at the Santa Rosa County Department of Health. “Magi Linscott defines the word ‘character’ through her hard work within our program. She leads the students in our clubs with ease and has a caring passion towards each individual she meets.”

As part of their awards, winners will work closely with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids throughout the year as media spokespeople, event contributors, campaign representatives at workshops and conferences, and participators in Ignite, a national 501(c)4 organization focused on political issues regarding tobacco control.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids works across the country and around the world to save lives by advocating for public policies that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke.

ABOUT STUDENTS WORKING AGAINST TOBACCO (SWAT)
SWAT is Florida's statewide youth organization working to mobilize, educate and equip Florida youth to revolt against and de-glamorize Big Tobacco. They are a united movement of empowered youth working towards a tobacco free future. There's a group of people on one side selling a product (cigarettes, cigars, hookah, chewing tobacco and more) that some teens are using. Those products are highly addictive and many teens that begin using them are never able to quit. On the other side, groups like SWAT and Tobacco Free Florida, are working to make sure as many teens as possible never start using tobacco.